Sakwala Chakraya Archives

BBC – Travel – The unsolved mystery of Sri Lanka’s ‘Stargate’-By Demi Perera In recent years, the internet has been alight with speculation that a chart-like carving in Anuradhapura is a stargate: an ancient gateway through which humans can enter the Universe. Source:BBC Sri Lanka’s sacred city of Anuradhapura is an unlikely place to be enmeshed in a fantastic tale of UFOs and otherworldly happenings. Locally known as Rajarata (Land of Kings), the Unesco World Heritage Site was the first established kingdom on the island (in 377 BC) and is at the heart of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist culture. Today, it’s one of the nation’s most visited places, attracting devoted pilgrims from around the country to its ancient Buddhist temples and giant dome-shaped stupas. But this holy city is also home to something far more curious. Here, in Ranmasu Uyana (Golden Fish Park), a 40-acre ancient urban park surrounded by three Buddhist temples, ...

Ranmasu Uyana – paradigm of garden architecture By Arundathie Abeysinghe Parks were a prominent feature of city planning during Ancient Kingdoms even before Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka during the era of King Devanampiyatissa (247 BC – 207 BC). According to chronicles, after the arrival of *Arhat Mahinda, King Devanampiyatissa had donated these parks to Buddhist monks to be used as Buddhist hermitages. According to chronicles, Ranmasu Uyana (meaning Gold Fish Park) had been used as a pleasure garden (Magul Uyana in Sinhala) for the sensual enjoyment by royals, an alternative to those donated to Buddhist monks. The Park has beautiful, plants, trees, vines as well as flowering shrubs as described in literary texts of Sinhala Literature, beauty and elegance of yesteryear. According to Professor Senake Bandaranayake, former Professor of Archaeology: “Sri Lanka is perhaps the only country in South Asia where we still have substantial archaeological remains ...